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Census of Population and Housing, 1990 [United States]: Modified Age/Race, Sex, and Hispanic Origin (MARS) State and County File (ICPSR 9878)

Principal Investigator(s):
United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census

Summary:

The MARS file contains modified race and age data based on
the 1990 Census. Both race and age are tabulated by sex and Hispanic
origin for several layers of geography. The race data were modified to
make reporting categories comparable to those used by state and local
agencies. The 1990 Census included 9,804,847 persons who checked the
"other race" category and were therefore not included in one of the
15 racial categories listed on the Census form. "Other race" is
usually not an acceptable reporting category for state and local
agencies. Therefore, the Census Bureau assigned each "other race"
person to the specified race reported by another person geographically
close with an identical response to the Hispanic-origin question.
Hispanic origin was taken into account because over 95 percent of the
"other race" persons were of Hispanic origin. (Hispanic-origin
persons may be of any race.) The assignment of race to Hispanic-origin
persons did not affect the Hispanic-origin category that they checked
(i.e, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc.). Age data were modified
because respondents tended to report age as of the date they completed
the 1990 questionnaire, instead of age as of the April 1, 1990 Census
date. In addition, there may have been a tendency for respondents to
round up their age if they were close to having a birthday. Age data
for individuals in households were modified by adjusting the reported
birth-year data by race and sex for each of the 1990 Census's 449
district offices to correspond with the national level quarterly
distribution of births available from the National Center for Health
Statistics. The data for persons in group quarters were adjusted
similarly, but on a state basis. The age adjustment affects
approximately 100 million people. In this file their adjusted age is
one year different from that reported in the 1990 Census.

The MARS file contains modified race and age data based on
the 1990 Census. Both race and age are tabulated by sex and Hispanic
origin for several layers of geography. The race data were modified to
make reporting categories comparable to those used by state and local
agencies. The 1990 Census included 9,804,847 persons who checked the
"other race" category and were therefore not included in one of the
15 racial categories listed on the Census form. "Other race" is
usually not an acceptable reporting category for state and local
agencies. Therefore, the Census Bureau assigned each "other race"
person to the specified race reported by another person geographically
close with an identical response to the Hispanic-origin question.
Hispanic origin was taken into account because over 95 percent of the
"other race" persons were of Hispanic origin. (Hispanic-origin
persons may be of any race.) The assignment of race to Hispanic-origin
persons did not affect the Hispanic-origin category that they checked
(i.e, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc.). Age data were modified
because respondents tended to report age as of the date they completed
the 1990 questionnaire, instead of age as of the April 1, 1990 Census
date. In addition, there may have been a tendency for respondents to
round up their age if they were close to having a birthday. Age data
for individuals in households were modified by adjusting the reported
birth-year data by race and sex for each of the 1990 Census's 449
district offices to correspond with the national level quarterly
distribution of births available from the National Center for Health
Statistics. The data for persons in group quarters were adjusted
similarly, but on a state basis. The age adjustment affects
approximately 100 million people. In this file their adjusted age is
one year different from that reported in the 1990 Census.

Dataset(s)

Study Description

Citation

U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 1990 [UNITED STATES]: MODIFIED AGE/RACE, SEX, AND HISPANIC ORIGIN (MARS) STATE AND COUNTY FILE. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census [producer], 1992. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1992. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09878.v1